My husband and I were married in my home state of Pennsylvania 30 years ago in December of 1982, but a couple weeks later, we had a repeat ceremony in Wisconsin (his home state, and where we first met at graduate school, and where we still live ~ see here for more on how we met). So, as I sometimes put it, we had two weddings:  his and mine.

Today's the 30th anniversary of that day we repeated our vows –– or our 60th anniversary, so to speak.

A few years ago, I read through John Piper's "Desiring God," and in the past week or so, I've begun listening to it on an audiobook (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 2003). As I was listening to the various acknowledgments in the Preface, these words of Piper really struck me:

"And, lest it go unsaid from being obvious, nothing happens without Noël. She supports in so many ways that I lean on her like gravity and oxygen." (p. 13)

Piper often has his own quirky (and wonderful) of saying things, and though I'm definitely more than a little quirky, I suspect I wouldn't have phrased it exactly like that about my husband, but that sentiment rings so very true in my own soul.

And, lest it go unsaid from being obvious, nothing happens without Paul. He supports in so many ways that I lean on him like gravity and oxygen.

I don't say it publicly here very often at all, but anything of benefit that you may reap from my writing, you must not only give thanks to the Lord, but also give thanks to my husband.

And, as much as I want to be a lone ranger and to be independent and self-reliant, I'm not. That's a hard and painful lesson to learn, and it's one I will be learning until the day I die, but it's a wholly necessary lesson. I must be dependent first and foremost on God Himself, but in addition, along with the whole human race, each and every one of us has also been created to be interdependent, that we might rely upon other people. In I Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul reminds us that each of the parts of the Body of Christ need each other; we can't say, "I don't belong," or "I don't need so and so."

Now, to be clear about it ... Jesus Christ Himself is The Rock, and through Jesus Christ alone comes The Breath of Life through His Holy Spirit. In the Lord Jesus Christ are all the wellsprings of life! All! A few years ago, in my post wives, your husband is not your Husband, I warned women about making idols out of our husbands (see also my post "on our anniversary".)

All that said, in our God's wonderful and inscrutable workings, He has deemed to graciously provide His people much-needed gravity and oxygen through jars of clay, through the Body of Christ, through our spouses, family members, and friends, all so we might go from strength to strength and be empowered in our pilgrimage in this fallen world, this valley of Baca –– so that even as we find ourselves sorrowful in this place of tears and weeping, we might also be rejoicing.

In II Timothy 4, the apostle Paul testified that when all others deserted him, the Lord Himself stood by him and strengthened him ... and yet Paul longed to see Timothy. He writes these words to his son in the faith, "Do your best" or "Do thy diligence" (KJV) to come before winter. The Greek word for "Do your best" or "Do thy diligence" is  spoudazo (spoo-dad'-zo) –– to use speed, i.e. to make effort, be prompt or earnest:--do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study (from Strong's Concordance).

The Trinity is a perfect, blessed, loving community, and mankind has been created in God's image to enter into, share, and enjoy fellowship and community with the Triune God, as well as with the people of God in and through Jesus Christ, that our joy might be full (I John 1:1-4).

My husband is fond of quoting Proverbs 18:22 in the King James Version:  "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD," and today I say the same in regard to him:

Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

In my last couple posts (here and here), I've been urging those of you who are already Christians to be pressing in to seek the face of God so you might receive grace upon grace . . .

In the second of those posts, I referred to Moses' continuing upward pursuit to receive more of God's grace and to see God's glory (see Exodus 33). Yesterday afternoon, I was re-listening to Martyn Lloyd-Jones' (ML-J) sermon, "Revival of a Backslidden Church," given in Pensacola, Florida, in 1969. Near the end of that sermon, ML-J read from one of Spurgeon's revival year sermons. I went back to Lloyd-Jones' book "Revival" (Wheaton: Crossway, 1987) for I was pretty sure he'd also cited that same quotation in one of those sermons, and I found it in Chapter 17, "The Glory of God Revealed" (pp. 223-224, emphasis mine), based on ML-J's sermon given in 1959 on Exodus 33:18-23 (available here: http://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/the-glory-of-god-2/).

In that sermon, Lloyd-Jones challenged his congregation (and us ~ though dead, yet he speaks!) to press on to receive from Christ's fullness grace upon grace, or as he put it to "enjoy foretastes of heaven here in this world" –– using the example of Moses, as well as the Psalmists, the apostle Paul, Peter, and the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. As he was concluding the sermon, he read a couple excerpts from Jonathan Edwards' "Personal Narrative" followed by these words of Spurgeon:

"Let me say now before I turn from this point, that it is possible for a man to know whether God has called him or not. And he may know it too beyond a doubt. He may know it as surely as if he read it with his own eyes. Nay, he may know it more surely than that. For if I read a thing with my eyes, even my eyes may deceive me. The testimony of sense may be false, but the testimony of the Spirit must be true. We have the witness of the Spirit within, bearing witness with our spirits that we are born of God. There is such a thing on earth as an infallible assurance of our election. Let a man once get that and it will anoint his head with fresh oil, it will clothe him with a white garment of praise and put the song of the angels in his mouth. Happy, happy man who is fully assured in his interest in the covenant of grace, in the blood of atonement, and in the glories of heaven. What would some of you give if you could arrive at this assurance. Mark, if you anxiously desire to know, you may know. If you heart pants to read its title clear, it shall do so ere long. No man ever desired Christ in his heart with a living and longing desire, who did not find Him sooner or later. If thou hast a desire, God has give it thee. If thou pantest, and criest, and groanest after Christ, even this is His gift, bless Him for it. Thank Him for a little grace, and ask Him for great grace. He has given thee hope, ask for faith. And when He gives thee faith, ask for assurance. And when thou gettest assurance, ask for full assurance. And when thou hast obtained full assurance, ask for enjoyment. And when thou hast enjoyment, ask for glory itself and He shall surely give it thee in His own appointed season."

Dr. Lloyd-Jones closed the sermon with the following exhortation, which is my exhortation to you today:

"Are you on these steps? Having thanked God for what you have, have you got this longing for more? Hope, faith, assurance, full assurance, enjoyment, glory. Ask him for it. Climb the steps. Follow the example of Moses. Enter boldly in faith, and say to God, ‘Show me thy glory.' And you have the assurance, not only of Spurgeon, that if you do so from your heart, and sincerely, in his own good season he will answer you. You have the infinitely higher and greater assurance of this word of God itself, of the promise of the living God: 'Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you,' (James 4.8). Seek glory. For yourself, seek it. For the Church, pray for revival, for the passing by of the glory of God."

Genesis 18:9  They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10  The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11  Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12  So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13  The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14  Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15  But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

May the LORD of hosts strengthen each and every one of us so we in hope against hope believe and embrace His very great and precious promises, and seek Him with all our heart . . . O! yes, certainly thank Him for a little grace . . . but ask Him for great grace!

Our heavenly Father, the God of all grace who has given us a little grace, is pleased to pour out upon His needy children great grace!

Like Elisha's servant, let us go up now . . . and go again . . . and go again . . . until we glimpse a sight of that small cloud like a man's hand rising from the sea!

I Kings 18:41  And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 42  So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43  And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44  And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.”

And unlike Joash, may we not be found lukewarm or wavering in our pursuit of grace, may our affections not be sluggish or tepid when it comes desiring more and more of Christ – but rather may we strike the arrows tenaciously and incessantly . . .

II Kings 13:14  Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15  And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16  Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 17  And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18  And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19  Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”

postcards from England: are we excited over a dead fish and a car wreck?
The Day of Pentecost ... the first of a series (Martyn Lloyd-Jones on revival)
Father, forgive me for joking

Other related posts:

Amazing Grace . . . upon Grace ~ the 240th anniversary
"... since thou hast been thus gracious ..." ~ Susanna Anthony and grace upon grace
Why not pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
birthday reflection: "the great & glorious possibilities" ~ "Now therefore, give me this mountain"
As a deer pants ... Is your soul panting for God? (Psalms 42 & 43)
Grace flowing, abounding to us, Gifts for men, yea, the rebellious (Psalm 68:18)
Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God's love
"I cannot consider myself to have been a believer (in the full sense of the word)" ~ John Newton & myself

Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
Advent # 5 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might draw near to God | Even a Vapor
Advent # 7 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might be satisfied with Him
Advent # 8: WHY HAS JESUS COME? "so that [we] might be WITH HIM" ~ Mark 3:14
Advent # 9 WHY HAS JESUS COME? Adoption: the highest privilege the gospel offers ~ J.I. Packer

Letter 18 on assurance and fighting for joy (my testimony of joy)
John 3:36a Whoever believes in the Son HAS eternal life (letter 64 on assurance & joy)
"give me also springs of water" - Will you be an Achsah? (letter 66 on assurance & fighting for joy)
Can there be more? | letter 113 on assurance & fighting for joy
happiness & joy: the distinction that SHOULD be made | letter 155 on assurance & fighting for joy

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.

Photo credits (all {{PD-Art|PD-old-75}}):

Work found at http://thebiblerevival.com/clipart/1890holmanbible/bw/joashshootingarrowsfromawindowatthecommandofelisha.jpg / http://breadsite.org
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oda_krohg_stakkelse_lille_1891.jpg
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacob_Wrestling_with_the_Angel.jpg

On my birthday last August, in my post "the great & glorious possibilities" ~ "Now therefore, give me this mountain," I wrote of my own experience to press on to seek the Lord –– to receive grace upon grace –– as well as my desire for you to do likewise. Here are some excerpts from that post:

I was saved in November 1982, but only a few years ago, I came to a point in my Christian life when I began to be challenged by the Spirit of God to possess the land, much like what was happening in the book of Joshua...

Joshua 13:1 Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. This is the land that yet remains..."

Joshua 18:1 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them.  2  But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. 3 Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?

To explain, it wasn't a physical land I was being challenged to go in and possess, but rather a spiritual land – the spiritual inheritance God has given me in Jesus Christ. . . .

. . . as I was reading ["The Memoir of the Rev. W.H. Hewitson," the] phrase: "God's glory in all that is glorious," ... I recalled Moses' prayer to God in Exodus 33 (where Moses asked God to show him His glory), and so I looked up the passage, which I'd read countless times before, had studied in BSF at least a couple times, plus I'd also read Lloyd-Jones' sermons on it (and had listened to some of those as well) –– but that night those words in Exodus 33 came alive to me in a way they hadn't before, particularly verse 13:

Now therefore I pray if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight, and consider that this nation is your people.

I found this mind-boggling and exhilarating... Here is Moses, who has already found grace in the eyes of God. But Moses is not content with that. He's found grace, but there he is asking to find grace! There's that holy discontentment! He's going back to God and importunately pleading: "I want to know You! I want to receive more grace from You!" And then, if you keep reading the passage, God grants Moses his request, but even at that point, Moses doesn't stop, he pleads with God to show him His glory! I can't explain it you, but the Rock just split open for me at that moment. Now the perplexing thing to me, as I said above, is that I'd heard these things all over the place in Lloyd-Jones teachings for a couple years prior to that time, but all of a sudden my heart and my eyes were opened, and now they were made to be real possibilities for ME – much like Paul had been praying for the Ephesians in chapter 1. I found myself embracing those possibilities and promises with all my might. The Spirit blows how, when, and where He wills! O! Rejoice with trembling before this sovereign, good, and gracious God of glory! And then examine the content of the prayers you are regularly praying. How do they compare to Moses' prayer here? How do they compare to Paul's prayers in Ephesians 1 and 3? . . .

My purpose in writing all this to you, and my purpose in much of my writing here, is to tell of God's righteousness and salvation, to declare God's strength and power, that is, to remind you that there are streams of Living Water abundantly available to all the saints. To declare to you that in Christ there is an infinite spring of life (not a limited well) – but all too often we fail to ask, seek, and knock for these things because we don't even understand they are available to us. I see far too many of you hewing and drinking of broken cisterns and strange waters. I am writing to urge you to pray for a holy discontentment such as Moses had and to seek to know and to experience the great and glorious possibilities of the Christian life.

And, dare I say it, and I don't mean to sound unthankful at all, and I don't want to be misunderstood here –– so often we settle for first grace, and we don't press in and onward and upward to ask for more! Jesus Christ gave Himself in our place, and through His body and blood He has made a way for all believers to begin to experience infinite grace, glory, love, light, life, comfort, and joy –– but what are we doing about it? My brothers and sisters, there IS spiritual land to be possessed! Are you being negligent like the Israelites? No wonder so many of you are weary, fainting, and languishing. We can't expect to run the race set before us apart from God's supplies. Can you really expect to flourish in times of famine, to be sustained in the Valley of Baca (the thirsty or weeping valley), to persevere with joy, or to bubble up with living water to a thirsty world if you aren't drinking of Christ and if you aren't seeking to drink deeper and deeper of Him?

Caleb's example to this 54-year old:  Don't stop satisfied!

One of the greatest dangers of the Christian life is for us to stop short of possessing and enjoying all of the spiritual inheritance God has for us. I have a close spiritual friend and one of the exhortations that we constantly bring to one another is this:  "Let us not STOP SATISFIED!" Why do we do that? Because we know that each of us, no matter who we are, no matter our previous experiences, is in grave danger of stopping satisfied. I'm turning 54 years old today, and I love the account of Caleb I've cited below, the man who at 85 years of age is still pressing in and onward and upward for more of Christ. Why? He kept remembering the promises of God and he continued to embrace them –– for a full forty-five years!

Joshua 14:6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. 15 And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim).

However long I live in this earthly tent, I am praying for God's grace to continue to abound to me so I might be pressing on in the same way Caleb did! O! God! Let me not stop satisfied! Give me this mountain!

What kind of life are we really living if we stop satisfied? Having received a sight of God's glory, are we not given freedom by the Holy Spirit to go from glory to glory? Having received grace, ought we not to be pleading for more grace? Like Joshua, I am old, and advanced in years compared with many of you, but I am praying God will grant me grace to possess all the land He has yet for me! The thought thrills me, for I am increasingly convinced that, as the Scripture tells us:

... the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
(Proverbs 4:17)

. . .

My deepest desire and prayer is that along with me, you would not stop satisfied, but that God would grant you an enlarged and enhanced understanding of the inheritance He has for you, and along with that, an ever-increasing hunger and thirst to know Him. And I'll tell you this, as God does this for you, He will give you a desire to use it to His glory, for He always blesses us to bless others. As we freely receive, we are called to freely give. . . .

I'd encourage you to go and read that whole post, but I wanted to present that excerpt today in order to set the stage for the words of Susanna Anthony (1726-1791), a young woman who wasn't settling for or stopping satisfied with first grace, but was inflamed with a holy passion and a holy discontentment to seek to receive of His fullness grace upon grace. Miss Anthony prayed like Moses and embraced the promises of God like Caleb. (FYI:  In a previous post, consider ... our ways, the great cloud of witnesses, Susanna Anthony, I included a diary entry written by Miss Anthony about a year before the one I've included below.)

The meditations, prayers and desires of this eighteen-year-old youth put most of us to shame. May God give each of us grace to examine ourselves and our desires and consider our ways, so we don't waste our lives (waste Christ's life!) and squander the spiritual inheritance that is already ours in Jesus Christ. May God give us grace to seek to receive from His fullness grace upon grace as we ought –– for IF we have already found grace in God's sight, ought we not be hungering and thirsting for grace upon grace –– pressing on to know the LORD with a holy boldness, to find grace in His sight and to be shown His glory –– like Moses and Caleb and Susanna Anthony? God forbid we settle for first grace and stop satisfied, and be found negligent or slack in our pursuit of God for "God is the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied." ~ Jonathan Edwards (HT: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/jonathan-edwards-on-the-pilgrim-mindset).

Oct. 26, 1744. I have now just finished the 18th year of my age. Good God! to what little purpose have I lived these eighteen years! Ah. Lord, thou hast come these many years seeking fruit; but alas! how little hast thou found! How vilely have I requited thy care! and how incorrigible have I been, under all thy cultivations. But, sure I am, these unparalleled instances of ingratitude and rebellion have not stopped the current of thy unbounded goodness. Was ever mortal so favored before! It is too bold an assertion to say, infinite mercy could not go beyond, considered in itself; yet, when I look on it, as relating to me the most ungrateful, unworthy, ill-deserving of all the redeemed race, the chief of sinners, and most helpless of mortals, I am ready to cry out, Never a greater instance of divine mercy! It is two years since I gave myself up to God and his church; and publicly avowed the Lord, for my God. And, though I would lament my vileness, that I have lived so unbecoming one in covenant with a holy God; yet, O, Lord my God, what shall I render to thee for thy preserving and sustaining grace; that I have been enabled to resist most fierce and otherwise irresistible assaults?

   Yea, I will praise him, who has been the health of my countenance, and my God. It has been because thou hast been the health of my countenance, that it has been in any measure healthful, hitherto. Therefore will l still hope in thy mercy. O God of my former revivals, leave me not not. How many months have I passed without any sensible decline of the power of godliness in my soul? For near these two years, more especially, I trust I have made sensible progress in my christian course. This I dare assert, to the honor of free, unmerited grace. To thy name, eternal Jehovah, be the glory. Thy grace hath been cultivated in my soul, notwitstanding all my corruptions. I have been admitted to near converse with thee. Thou hast made such discoveries of thyself, that I have seemed, as it were, to behold thee with open face; and, in some degree, to be changed into thine image. These powerful discoveries have formed my soul to a holy calm and serenity; a deep abasement; holy, solemn, humble awe of the great Jehovah; with holiness to the Lord inscribed on all my powers; not only in holy raptures of joy, with the gracious manifestation of thy most endearing love; but sweetly swallowed up in the opening views and apprehensions of Deity. The glories of Jehovah I cannot describe; or even the sensible transforming power such discoveries of thyself have had on my soul.

   And O, what a despicable worm did I appear to myself, when thou wast pleased to pass before me in the glories of thy nature, and caused me to cry out, "Woe is me! I am undone! I am unclean! I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee; wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes."

   Yet, since thou hast been thus gracious, I entreat thee, O God, who art still the same, my almighty and faithful God, to show me thy glory. Lord, give me soul-quickening, soul-humbling, and soul-reviving and transforming views of thyself O Lord God, arise for my help. Entreat me not to leave thee; but suffer me, yea do thou strengthen me to a holy violence, to wrestle with thee, and tell thee, I cannot let thee go, my Lord, and my God. O, now admit me to a near converse with thee. Unveil thy perfections, so far as a mortal worm can bear. Lord, fill a finite vapor. Break in on my soul with divine power. Show me thy glory. I cannot withdraw my petition. Dear, ever gracious, all condescending Savior, condescend to grant my request. Shouldest thou now hold forth thy sceptre, and bid me ask what I would, this should be my immediate request, O give me transforming discoveries of thyself: Show me thy glory. Amen, even so, Lord Jesus. Amen and Amen.

Source: "The Life and Character of Miss Susanna Anthony. Who Died, in Newport, (R I.) June 23, 1791, in the 65th year of her age. Consisting Chiefly in Extracts from Her Writings, with Some Brief Observations on Them." Complied by Samuel Hopkins, Second Edition. (Portland, Maine: Lyman, Hall & Co. 1810), 71-72, underlining mine. (HT for the text: http://books.google.com/books?id=YO0QAAAAYAAJ)

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.

Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre-%C3%89douard_Fr%C3%A8re_-_Interior_Scene_with_Woman_Praying_-_Walters_371370.jpg by Pierre-Édouard Frère. Released into Public Domain by Walters Art Museum / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

Related posts:

• consider ... our ways, the great cloud of witnesses, Susanna Anthony
• Amazing Grace . . . upon Grace ~ the 240th anniversary
• birthday reflection: "the great & glorious possibilities" ~ "Now therefore, give me this mountain"
• Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
• Advent # 5 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might draw near to God | Even a Vapor
• Advent # 7 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might be satisfied with Him
• Advent # 8: WHY HAS JESUS COME? "so that [we] might be WITH HIM" ~ Mark 3:14
• Advent # 9 WHY HAS JESUS COME? Adoption: the highest privilege the gospel offers ~ J.I. Packer
• John 3:36a Whoever believes in the Son HAS eternal life (letter 64 on assurance & joy)
• "give me also springs of water" - Will you be an Achsah? (letter 66 on assurance & fighting for joy)
• Where do you go when the world is unlovely? (Psalm 84 & the theology of Biblical counseling)
• As a deer pants ... Is your soul panting for God? (Psalms 42 & 43)
• a little child set in our midst leads us into the New Year
• Phebe Bartlet – a child put in our midst ~ "Do you love Me?"